


Aggressive Negotiations

by orphan_account



Series: Fullmetal Fortnight 2014 [2]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Fullmetal Alchemist, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Crossover, F/F, Nonbender Rights, Political Shenanigans, Socially Awkward Queer Girls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-09
Updated: 2014-03-09
Packaged: 2018-01-15 03:56:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1290397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the Equalists' uprising and the dramatic shift in the politics of the United Republic, President Yao becomes the first democratically elected leader of the fledgling nation. However, Senator Chang is <em>far</em> more interested in the former Equalist Vice President of his.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Aggressive Negotiations

**Author's Note:**

> Written for FMA Week 2014. Prompt 1-B: "Elements".
> 
> Alchemists are benders in this AU. Mei Chang is a waterbender because alkahestry/healing; Roy Mustang is a firebender because Roy Mustang; Izumi Curtis is an earthbender because honestly how could she _not_ be? I can't tell if I'd put the Elrics as airbenders because Xerxian traits, like airbender traits, are rare. I think that Ed would be an earthbender, having inherited it from Trisha's family, and Al would an airbender. 
> 
> I picked "Feng" for Lan Fan's family name because it means _phoenix_ and the phoenix associations with the Xing crew arc are too important for no one to talk about them. Also, I'm using the "Mei" spelling because it's the more Chinese one (and I might possibly switch over to using it).
> 
> President Raiko has been replaced with President Ling because, let's face it, President Raiko was a hardnose and no one likes him anyway.
> 
> Yue bing, also known as mooncake, is a round pastry with red bean or lotus seed filling. Baobing is shaved ice topped with syrup, fruit, and other sweet additions. Since the Water Tribe is associated with both the moon and with ice, I felt like those were appropriate desserts.
> 
> A reminder that Lan Fan is a dmab transwoman in my headcanons and you can't take that away from me, and since you can't beat 'em, you might as well join 'em.
> 
> Unedited/unbeta'd/etc. Thank you for reading!

When the first democratic elections of the United Republic occurred at last, several months after the Equalists’ terrorist attacks had given way to peaceful demonstrations, a man descended of the Earth Kingdom donned the title of President. His victory was due in no small part to the popularity of his vice president running mate, a fiery nonbender who, during a debate over economic policy with regards to nonbender rights, slammed her prosthetic hand into the podium so harshly that it cracked and shot splinters to impale the opposing candidate’s podium.

The President, an heir to the notably wealthy Yao fortune, an old noble family under the Earth King that had moved to the United Republic during its initial days and had made a killing as gold merchants. And the Vice President, a former member of the lowest economic stratum who had gambled against the triads and won. Who had lost in her arm protecting a life in a raid by Tarrlok’s old task force. Who had been an Equalist for months before Amon’s activism had turned to tyranny and terrorism, and who had fought against the movement on the promised day.

She had ultimately taken to the streets with the peaceful protests of the post-revolution Equalists. And somehow she had become the poster child of nonbender rights, right up to her election.

 

The current representative of the waterbenders of the United Republic, likewise democratically elected by the waterbenders living within the nation rather than those of either Water Tribe—in conjunction with the new laws—observed the Vice President during the first new legislative session. She stood stiffly to the side of the main floor with her arms folded over her chest. By the firm set of her jaw, said representative seemed about ready to rip the nearest desk in half.

The representative concealed her smile, lifting the outline of the day’s talking points to cover her lower face.

While the doors to the Senate opened at last—the President had arrived late by a handful of minutes—the milling Senators seated themselves in a flurry of scraping chairs and shuffling papers. The President took the floor with a politician’s smile. Running his hand through his spiky black hair, he cleared his throat, waved, and bowed low to the Senators. “Well, I know what a lot of you guys are thinking right now,” he said. “Who’s that dashing asshole taking the stage, and is he free this weekend?”

Mixed laughter.

“Well! Thought I’d introduce myself. Name’s Yao Ling, and the bee- _yoo_ tiful woman to my left here is Vice President Feng Lan Fan. See the little phoenix decals on her jacket? I got her that jacket, and it looks _fine_ on her, so I’m going to point that out to all of you.” He grinned. “I hope that the reporters we’ve invited to the legislature’s first open session put _that_ in their coverage.”

More laughter. Genuine this time. The waterbender representative raised her eyebrows. Lowering the paper, she frowned slightly.

“Also, I’m pretty sure that if I don’t stop talking about her, she’s going to either kill me right now, or she’s going to run away from embarrassment and _then_ kill me. So!” He clapped. “Let’s get this party started, shall we?”

Now chattering and chuckling filled the chamber. While the Vice President tried desperately to cease turning red, the President seemed to switch to a barreling political approach; he brought up the Equalists’ protested points one by one, opened the floor to the newly minted Senators to weigh, offered a solution of his own or a summary of proceedings, and slammed straight into the next point without looking back. By the meeting’s close the legislature had covered more ground than the previous council had done during the entire least session. “And _now_ that we’ve got that summary taken care of, I’ve got some homework for you.” President Yao bowed, tipping an imaginary hat. “Draw up a bill, or think of a way to solve at least _one_ of the things on the agenda.”

The Senators applauded, shook hands with one another, and vanished. The representative of the firebenders—a shorter man named Roy Mustang—idled by to inquire of the President’s thoughts on possible modifications to the United Forces’s uniform, specifically for women, only to be rebuffed by the President’s snide response of “ _only if you wear those miniskirts as well!_ ” At length even the hardnosed earthbender representative, a formidable woman with thick dreads and a perpetual smirk, congratulated the President on a successful first meeting and went on her way. Leaving the waterbender representative, and President Yao, and Vice President Feng.

The representative of the waterbenders tucked the papers under her arm. “Ahem, Vice President Feng?”

Both President and Vice President turned to glance at her. President Yao smirked. “You sure you’re not talkin’ to me, Miss . . . ?” he asked pleasantly. “Because if you were looking to insult her former stance with the Equalists, I’ll have to toss you out of the window.”

She sighed. “You don’t even recognise your half sister? Chang Mei. Now, Ling, if you’ll excuse me, Mr President, I’d like to speak to the vice here.”

“I’m not a sin,” said the Vice President, and Ling laughed. “But I can handle myself, Ling. Let me hear what she has to say.

“Right,” he announced, “I’ll leave you to it, then. You want me to pick up some dumplings on the way there, or what’s up?”

Vice President Feng blushed again, this time more redly, and coughed. “Yes. You know what I like.”

“See you at home, then!” And with the President was gone.

And then there were two. Alone. In the vast hall of the Republic City Senate.

“So.” Mei cleared her throat delicately. “Are you—”

The Vice President’s arms snapped to her arms at the same moment that her frown deepened into a chin-wrinkling grimace. “No. We’re friends who share an apartment to split the rent.”

“—free tonight?”

For a moment Mei enjoyed herself in watching the Vice President’s features slowly contort from slightly defensive to utterly neutral and implacable to confused to embarrassed to panicked. Her hands lifted—automatically, Mei suspected—to her muffler to raise the hood, and Mei caught her wrists. The other woman immediately wrenched her arms from Mei’s grip. “My name’s Mei.”

“. . . Lan Fan.” Returning to a more placid expression, Lan Fan narrowed her eyes as if studying the waterbender representative, who offered a smile in place. “What do you want?”

“To get to know you. I suppose I’m not allowed to be _that_ forward, but it’s kind of worked in the past.” Mei clapped her palms to her cheeks. “I’ve attended almost all of your debates, and I’ve heard your voice over and over again on the radio. I’m quite a fan of yours, Miss Feng.”

“A fan,” Lan Fan echoed, suspicion scrawled over the lingering frown. “I see.”

Mei bobbed her head. “Mm! And I was hoping that perhaps we could discuss policy, together, since I’m _very_ curious as to what you have to say. I’m sure you have ideas I haven’t already heard.” When Lan Fan didn’t respond, Mei pressed: “I have quite the radical ideas myself, but as a bender, I’m not sure how they’d go over. Not with the Senate, which I couldn’t give a shit about if I tried.” She gestured outwards in a vast sweeping motion. “But in the real world. To nonbenders.”

“Policy,” repeated Lan Fan, like she were rolling the word on her tongue, and nodded. “That sounds fine. Where would you like to meet?”

Internally Mei smirked, the sparrow mouse have fluttered directly into the cobra cat’s waiting trap, but externally she reached for Lan Fan’s hand again under guise of shaking. “How about you walk with me? We could take the scenic route, pick up food on the way, and so on.”

“If you would allow me the honour of leading us, then that would be fine.”

Unable to contain herself, Mei could feel the smirk extend to her mouth. “Sure! I wonder what sort of food you like, Lan Fan.”

 

As happened, after the roundabout route, they paused by Narook’s Seaweed Noodlery for a bite to eat. Mei spent the first five minutes trying to analyse the contemplatively silent nonbender: Did Lan Fan pick a meal to please the waterbender? Or to remind Mei that benders, too, had stereotypes? Or to actually enjoy a meal? Once the bowls had arrived and Lan Fan had torn through half a dozen within the time that Mei ate through a single bowl, she concluded the latter.

Although, Mei’s eating had undoubtedly been slowed by the fact that she by far preferred observing Lan Fan’s alternating cycle of loudly slurping noodles, steadily becoming aware of the noise, swallowing two or three strands in the matter of a quote-unquote normal person, and then bit by bit returning to said slurping: Mei could watch Lan Fan’s mild blush forever and a day.

Lan Fan ordered a second round, folded her chopsticks neatly to the side, and propped her elbows up on the tabletop. “You wished to talk to me about policy.”

“Mmhm.” Mei polished off her bowl and piled it atop Lan Fan’s veritable mountain. “What was I going to talk about? Ah! Right. With regards to nonbender employment, I was considering employing an affirmative action programme? Since most menial labour—electricity generators and so on— _is_ dependent on benders, although _their_ working conditions aren’t the best either.” She adjusted her collar. “Even though benders are a minority, jobs that _don’t_ require benders still hire benders at a disproportionate rate.”

“Did you read that out of a brochure on basic socioeconomic theory?” Lan Fan retorted dryly, yet despite her bored tone, Mei could _hear_ the interest and excitement that bubbled just beneath, barely contained.

“Possibly. I don’t remember reading brochures on the subject. But I’m sure the activists have shoved one or five down my throat.” Mei tapped her index finger on her chin. “Perhaps it should be illegal for employers to ask if their employees can bend, and illegal for employees to state that they can bend until they’ve been accepted.”

“That opens the door to complaints of governmental discrimination against benders. And I doubt that the United Republic would take well to that. The latter, I mean.

But. preventing employers from _asking_ —and allowing potential employees to protest for discrimination based on bending ability—would be big steps.” Lan Fan _hrm_ ed. “I suppose that—what’s that noise?” Blinking, Mei listened but heard nothing out of the ordinary. “Is that a . . . is that a panda hamster?”

“Oh. Oh!” Xiao Mei had indeed stolen from Mei’s sleeve to filch noodles out of her bowl. “Mm. Her name’s Xiao Mei and I’ve had her since I was little.”

In that instant Lan Fan’s entire demeanor changed; Mei could _document_ her becoming friendlier, warmer, _Lan Fan-er_ on the spot. “May I pet her?” she asked in a voice of a five-year-old seeing her first polar bear dog.

Mei fought to keep the grin off of her face. “Of course. Er, careful, she—” Xiao Mei clamped her jaws around Lan Fan’s finger. “—bites. Are you okay? Do you need healing?!”

But Lan Fan was laughing. “I’m fine, I’m fine. It’s my, hm, left hand.” She paused. “The prosthetic. I never approach animals I don’t know with my other hand.”

“Oh.”

Lan Fan blinked. “You seem disappointed. Were you that interested in healing me?”

Mei’s turn for her cheeks to flush bright pink. Her words came out as a mumble: “Your hands looked warm. _Look_ warm.”

Again Lan Fan blinked, more slowly, and her cheeks puffed like she were biting her tongue. To keep from speaking, or to keep from laughing? Mei kneaded her lower lip with her teeth. “I see.” Beat. The waitress swung by with another dozen bowls of noodles, six in either hand, and left them on the table. Mei considered taking one of the bowls, dunking her face into the soup, and drowning herself. The journalists would have a field day with that one: It’d make a good headline. _Senator, waterbender representative, suicide by noodles at Narook’s._ Instead she scooped Xiao Mei up in her palm and brought the panda hamster near her cheek; Xiao Mei lapped at her face with her sandpapery tongue. At least the licking brought a faint upwards curve to Mei’s lips. “. . . so, are you free tonight?”

“Eh?”

When Mei glanced up she found Lan Fan watching her intently. “Someone whose companion treats them with such love must have _some_ aspect of goodness in them. Animals can sense _chi_ better than even trained benders. So.” She leaned forward. “Are you free tonight?”

Mei teetered on the tightrope, wheeling around to find the sweet-spot of balance. “I’m free right now.”

“Then, it’s a date?”

There. The centre of gravity. “If you’d like to call it that.”

Lan Fan slid her right hand over on the table; from her expression of mixed doubt, panic, and determination—mostly the latter—Mei could tell the effects of acting so forward. “Well, Senator? Is . . .” She faltered, expelled a puff of air through her nose, and pushed on. “. . . is my hand as warm as you thought it’d be?”

Mei stared. Was this woman even real, and had she _really_ been elected as Vice President? Yet Xiao Mei licked her cheek again. Firmly. And chirped in her ear in a clear indication of the panda hamster’s sentiments on the subject. No matter her initial humiliation at the incredibly awkward situation, Mei carefully slipped her hand across the tabletop and laid it atop Lan Fan’s, her palm resting on knuckles roughened from years of fighting or work or both.

Lan Fan _hmm_ ed.

With mock thoughtfulness Mei stroked an imaginary beard “You know, I can’t _quite_ tell if your hands are warm or not. Maybe I should retest my hypothesis. Elsewhere.” She allowed her gaze to linger over Lan Fan’s frame. Over her face. “Such as your mouth?”

“Work before pleasure.” Lan Fan’s expression hinted at a smile lurking somewhere in the promised coolness of the evening. “Policy first, _then_ dessert.”

“You drive a hard bargain, Vice President. I can see why they elected you.” Mei smirked. “But I’ll tell it.” She signalled the waiter. “Do you prefer yue bing or baobing?”

“Since there are elements of either one that I love,” said Lan Fan, her smile no longer lurking but out in the open, revealing the laugh lines around her mouth and her eyes, “why don’t we order both?”

Mei was more than inclined to agree.


End file.
